Tuna Burgers

I hesitate to call these "thai" tuna burgers because the thai flavors (chili and fish sauces) were not that pronounced. The flavor was mostly tuna and onions. It was pretty good. The burgers themselves are a little on the dry side but once you add the ginger-mayo and the peppers it's fine. The peppers do add a nice spot of flavor. The burgers are a bit delicate so they can only be baked. I can see them falling apart on the grill or in a grill pan. It was a very summer inspired dish.

Thai Tuna Burgers

(from Better Homes and Gardens)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup mayonnaise with olive oil
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon Asian chili sauce (Sriracha sauce)
2 cans (5 ounces) albacore tuna or solid white albacore tuna in water
1/4 cup very thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste.
small ciabatta buns, halved and toasted
1/3 cup pea shoots or micro greens
2 miniature sweet peppers, thinly sliced
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a small bowl combine mayonnaise and ginger; transfer 2 Tbsp. to a large bowl. Cover remaining mayonnaise mixture and chill. To the same large bowl add eggs, panko, fish sauce, and Asian chili sauce. Flake tuna and add to bowl. Add celery and green onion and stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Let stand 10 minutes. With wet hands, shake tuna mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.
2. Place tuna patties on a greased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until done.
3. To serve, spread ciabatta halves with remaining mayonnaise mixture. Add a tuna patty to bottom half of each bun, bottom side up. Top with pea shoots or micro-greens, thinly sliced peppers, and top buns. 

Tuna Melts

I love Cracklin Oat Bran but it's not really healthy and it's normally over five bucks for a small box. Today I saw it on sale for $2.50 and was all prepared to grab ten boxes. I grabbed a box and whomp whomp, it was the last box...pushed all the way up to the edge of the shelf. So sneaky.
Other things I love that I don't have that often? Mr. Lawyer's Tuna Melts....and egg sandwiches. Actually, I miss a lot of his cooking and meals from grad school but big kid work schedules are lame. I picked up all the fixings for it and then waited for him to get home and then waited some more for him to make it. It was worth it.

Lemon-Pepper Tuna Melt!

By Mr. Lawyer

First you set your oven to broil (500 degrees) and toast your bread. Next you layer on some of Grandma Nancy's pickles and top with lightly mayo-ed tuna. Next comes the cheese and it must be Cooper Sharp from the deli. Sprinkle on some lemon-pepper seasoning and broil until the cheese is bubbly and starts to brown. Serve it up with some more pickles!

Fried Capers

I'm oddly in love with this dish. When I found the recipe I was intrigued, while making it was I was worried, while eating it I was rather smitten. The pasta first tastes garlicky and has a slight lemony after taste. Every few bites you would get a nice little pop from the red pepper. The fried lemon zest strips were not as scary as I thought but could be overpowering if you had too many in one forkful. And the capers, oh the capers. I had never done anything with capers and while I have had them in a few dishes, they have never stood out. I tried one right out of the jar and was unimpressed, hence some of my worry. I was also nervous about it being too lemony which it is not. The caper was just sort of plant-y but once it was fried! A nice little crisp burst of saltiness with the perfect balance of earthiness.
Downside: The tuna got a bit dry. Maybe I warmed it for a minute too long or didn't have enough oil. I did not use 1/4 cup olive oil because I was using a smaller pot (the general!) and when I started to heat up the full amount it spazzed out like a rabid raccoon on crack so I reduced the amount.

Fettuccine with Tuna, Lemon & Fried Capers

(adapted from Fine Cooking)

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
1 lemon, scrubbed for zest and 2 tablespoons juice
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil; more for drizzling (I used significantly less)
1/4 cup small (nonpareil) capers, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 12-oz. can or 2 6-oz. cans solid white tuna in water, drained well
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (I doubled it)
3/4 lb. dried fettuccine (used vermicelli because we had it)
Freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (omitted)
Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
2.  Shave off the lemon zest, then slice into very thin strips. Juice the lemon to get 2 Tbs. juice.
3. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Add the capers and cook until they start to brown and get crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and cook until it starts to crisp and curl up, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the capers and lemon zest to a plate lined with a paper towel.
3. Reduce the heat to medium low, add the garlic to the remaining oil in the pan and cook, stirring, until it browns lightly but doesn’t burn, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tuna and red pepper flakes and cook until the tuna just heats through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Meanwhile, cook the fettuccine in the boiling salted water, stirring often, until it’s just tender. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
5. Return the sauté pan to medium heat. Add the drained pasta, 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, 2 Tbs. of the lemon juice, and the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Cook, tossing and stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes to blend the flavors. If the pasta isn’t tender, add the remaining cooking water and continue to cook and stir until done. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice.
6. Serve immediately, drizzled with a little olive oil and sprinkled with the capers, lemon strips, parsley, and a few grinds of black pepper.

More Salad!

We have been very good about sticking to our healthy eating plans. Behold tonight's dinner:

Salad with Tuna!

See? Boring blog posts. Time for some excitement!